Gator takes over Memorial Park bike trail
By MIKE GLENN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
SEE IT NOW
Carlos Antonio Rios / Chronicle
Houston Police Officers L.G. Gay and M.R. Fursrenfeild help move an alligator found on a Memorial Park bike trail.
Bicyclist Randy Wilson hadn't planned any fancy riding stunts Sunday while cycling at a fast pace on a bike trail in Memorial Park.
Then again, he didn't expect to see a 5-foot-long alligator on the trail. There wasn't enough time to stop, Wilson said, so he had to quickly find another way to evade the reptile.
"I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bunny hop an alligator," Wilson said. "It snapped at my back tire and almost made me wipe out."
The alligator was first spotted about 2 p.m. on the path beneath a railroad trestle along the 7100 block of Memorial Drive.
It took a hefty contingent of Houston police and other armed government workers the better part of two hours Sunday to subdue the alligator.
Val Bernardi said people were waving at him to stop as he rode his biker closer to the scene.
"I thought it was glass (on the path) or something like that," said a startled Bernardi. "I've never seen anything like that."
Although the people were excited, the alligator seemed to show little interest in the small crowd that gathered behind the yellow crime-scene tape.
The alligator began hissing and wildly thrashing about 4 p.m. when Kevin Malonson, a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden, slipped a lasso around its neck.
Some Houston police officers held the alligator down as the warden taped its jaws shut and bound its legs. Tied and unable to resist, the alligator was lifted into the back of the game warden's pickup.
The alligator likely came from Buffalo Bayou and officials said it had been injured, possibly struck by a car. An examination will determine whether the animal can be released back into the wild.
"It can be a very dangerous situation, especially if you're dealing with an injured one like this," Malonson said. "Steer clear of them if you see them."
By MIKE GLENN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
SEE IT NOW
Carlos Antonio Rios / Chronicle
Houston Police Officers L.G. Gay and M.R. Fursrenfeild help move an alligator found on a Memorial Park bike trail.
Bicyclist Randy Wilson hadn't planned any fancy riding stunts Sunday while cycling at a fast pace on a bike trail in Memorial Park.
Then again, he didn't expect to see a 5-foot-long alligator on the trail. There wasn't enough time to stop, Wilson said, so he had to quickly find another way to evade the reptile.
"I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bunny hop an alligator," Wilson said. "It snapped at my back tire and almost made me wipe out."
The alligator was first spotted about 2 p.m. on the path beneath a railroad trestle along the 7100 block of Memorial Drive.
It took a hefty contingent of Houston police and other armed government workers the better part of two hours Sunday to subdue the alligator.
Val Bernardi said people were waving at him to stop as he rode his biker closer to the scene.
"I thought it was glass (on the path) or something like that," said a startled Bernardi. "I've never seen anything like that."
Although the people were excited, the alligator seemed to show little interest in the small crowd that gathered behind the yellow crime-scene tape.
The alligator began hissing and wildly thrashing about 4 p.m. when Kevin Malonson, a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden, slipped a lasso around its neck.
Some Houston police officers held the alligator down as the warden taped its jaws shut and bound its legs. Tied and unable to resist, the alligator was lifted into the back of the game warden's pickup.
The alligator likely came from Buffalo Bayou and officials said it had been injured, possibly struck by a car. An examination will determine whether the animal can be released back into the wild.
"It can be a very dangerous situation, especially if you're dealing with an injured one like this," Malonson said. "Steer clear of them if you see them."
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